Deer Creek Development Getting Closer

Maplewood’s Deer Creek Center may still be developed, in spite of the for the development in January.

, a private company that owns the property, requested $8.5 million. It can still happen if five of the seven city council members vote for it, but that won’t happen until Summit signs more tenants.

City manager Marty Corcoran said after last week's council meeting there are a total of 10 to 12 spaces to lease, and four of those are “decent sized,” which he said are in the range of 20,000 square feet.

One of those bigger spaces is signed for, and two will sign soon, Corcoran said. If Summit has three of the four large spaces leased, Corcoran said the city will meet with Summit to draft a redevelopment plan.

He said the companies are national companies.

“You'd recognize the name of every one of them, but there's none in this area,” he said. There's none in the central corridor of St. Louis County.”

He said the stores might be in the Chesterfield area or South County, but not within a 10 or 15-mile radius.

Though Summit asked for $8.5 million, it doesn’t mean they’ll get that much.

“The TIF amount isn't set until the redevelopment agreement is done,” Corcoran said. “They asked for $8.5 million. I can't go above that, but I can go below it.”

“They may tell us to go pound sand and we don't have a deal,” he said.